Divergent fates: company unions and employee involvement committees under the railway labor and national labor relations acts

Well known is that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA, 1935) in the United States places a largely per se ban on nonunion employee representation (ER) groups which deal with employers over a term or condition of employment. Much less well known is that America’s other labor law, the Railway Labor Act (RLA, 1926), takes a different approach and permits employers to operate such councils and committees as long as they do not perform a collective bargaining function or interfere with workers’ free choice of a bargaining agent. Thus, under the RLA Delta Air Lines is able to operate what is today the closest living approximation to a 1920s-style ER plan while hundreds of other companies (e.g. Polaroid) under the jurisdiction of the NLRA have been forced over the years to disband similar groups on grounds they are a proscribed company union. No study to date has explored the history behind the RLA and NLRA’s divergent treatment of nonunion ER groups so this article takes a first look. The main part of the story covers the 1920–1935 period and examines the events, people, and experiences associated with company unions and ER in, respectively, the rail and manufacturing industries and why the legislative outcome in the former was a permissive stance on nonunion committees but prohibitive in the latter. The last part of the paper fast-forwards the RLA-NLRA story from the 1930s to contemporary law and practice in order to demonstrate how “history matters” when it comes to what employers can and cannot do with nonunion representation groups, such as works councils, participation and involvement committees, and dispute resolution forums.     

The Characteristics and Unmet Housing Program Needs of Disabled HUD-Assisted Households

The mismatch between the housing needs of persons with a disability and the housing programs designed to accommodate those needs is an important housing policy concern. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sponsors several programs designed to improve the housing conditions of persons with a disability, but we know little about the characteristics of persons with a disability, among those receiving federal housing assistance, or the degree to which persons with a disability are served by HUD-sponsored housing programs that are designed to meet the needs of persons with a disability. Our study relies on administrative data from HUD and the U.S. Census Bureau to address this research gap. We find that many persons with a disability are served by HUD-sponsored programs that are not designated for persons with a disability, even when disability accommodations have been requested, and a similarly large share of persons with a disability live in potentially eligible low-income households that do not receive HUD assistance.     

《大清现行刑律》与民初民事法源——大理院对“现行律民事有效部分”的适用

“现行律民事有效部分”是民初一种主要而又特殊的民事法源，源自《大清现行刑律》，但在立法层面，《大清现行刑律》从“刑律”到“民法”转变的任务并未完成，即未形成统一法律文本样态的“现行律民事有效部分”。司法机关适用该法源时面临着三大难题：无统一明确的内容该如何适用？相关律(例)文未去刑罚化如何用于民事审判？旧的律(例)文如何适应新的社会情势和法律制度？大理院以判例和解释例，确认并明确了“现行律民事有效部分”的内容范围，从原刑律条款转化出民事效果，并通过法律解释、类推适用和假借等方式，保证了其在民初司法实践中的正常适用；经由法律概念的对接、民法理论的融合和权利观念的渗透，实现了对“现行律民事有效部分”的创新，使其成为中国民法近代化历程中新旧之法融合的一个节点和枢纽，构成近代中国法制史上的重要一环。     

思想政治工作切忌简单化——论思想政治工作的科学定位

要科学地研究和开展思想政治工作，至少应该在“做谁的工作”、“由谁做工作”　、“做什么工作”和“怎样做工作”等问题上作出正确的回答。我们的一些思想政治工作之　所以苍白无力，往往是因为在这些问题上出现了单向、单干、单纯、单调四种简单化的误区　。而我们走出这些误区，对思想政治工作进行科学化的定位，就必须把握“互动”、“合力　”、“结合”、“渗透”这四大要件。     

科长职位特征分析

21世纪是全新的世纪,政府将面临新的形势、新的情况和问题。政府系统中的科级领导处在一线位置,深刻认识和把握其职位特点、需求及变化趋势,是应对入世挑战、与时俱进、跨越发展、提高政府工作效率和服务水平的必要条件。     

The W***D C*P of 2*1*: FIFA's intellectual property rights in South Africa

Legal context: This article focuses on the relationship between trade markrights and other forms of statutory protection. Key points: FIFA is the proprietor of a number of trade mark registrationsin South Africa. The strength of these registrations is discussedand the view taken that a number are open to attack, in termsof both distinctiveness and user requirements. It is then shownthat, if statutory protection is given for the same words andphrases, the weaknesses of the trade mark registrations willbe avoided. Practical significance: The article serves as an illustration of the manner in whichinternational sporting bodies attempt to extend their IP protectionbeyond the bounds of existing legislation.     

Transfers from prison to hospital under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act between 2011 and 2014

In England and Wales, prisoners with mental disorder of such severity as to warrant inpatient treatment may be transferred to hospital under the Mental Health Act. UK Government guidance recommends that this process should be completed within 14 days; however, evidence suggests that in many cases it can take much longer. This retrospective service evaluation of 64 male prisoners, who were transferred under Section 47 or Section 48, aimed to evaluate transfer durations. The mean time from referral to admission was 76 days. Prisoners with a psychotic disorder were admitted more quickly. Remand prisoners were admitted more quickly than sentenced prisoners. Findings suggest that, in the UK the transfer time of prisoners under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act continues to far exceed the 14-day target which raises concern about equivalence of care for prisoners. Our findings support arguments for fundamental amendments to the admissions process.     

Local response to federal changes in the housing voucher program: A case study of intraregional cooperation

Abstract

The desire to increase residential choice for Section 8 voucher clients resulted in the adoption of portability by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Portability allows voucher holders to move between the jurisdictions of local housing authorities (HAs). InterHA cooperation could ease the administrative and financial burdens imposed by portability and improve service to voucher recipients. However, voluntary regional cooperation is rare.

This article presents a case study of a successful, voluntary, intraregional cooperative agreement among HAs. Theoretical and empirical analyses suggest that a cooperative agreement is more likely to develop voluntarily if two conditions are present: rational self‐interest and shared norms and trust among the managers. Agreements can ease the burdens associated with portability, but it is important for the parties to regularly assess implementation issues to ensure the agreement's continuing effectiveness. The article concludes with policy implications based on the findings from this research.     

The ‘Perils’ of an Identity Politics Approach to the Legal Recognition of Harm

In the past, and it still remains the case, people with learning difficulties who are victims of violence have been cast as being in need of protection rather than rights and justice. Such an approach belies an institutionalised perspective of harm that does not readily engage with criminal justice structures or solutions. At the same time, Sect. 146 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 gives the court the power to pass enhanced sentences where it can be proven that a crime was motivated by hostility towards someone because s/he is disabled. However, this provision may simply remain a symbolic pledge to equality that fails to tackle the complex and deep rooted causes of violence and oppression in modern society. The consequences of automatically turning to hate crime ‘solutions’ have yet to be explored. This article will draw from the ideas of a number of thinkers in the context of diverse activism to construct a bridge between current debates about how to theorise and tackle violence and oppression in the modern world and the campaigns fought by people with learning difficulties and their supporters. The hope is that this exercise will not only help people with learning difficulties to access the current debate but will further develop current thinking about how to understand and tackle violence in the modern world.